Pub thwarts robbery attempt

By Clyde Mooney

An inner-city Sydney pub last weekend foiled a robbery attempt through good cash management.

Last Sunday night, three men armed with a shotgun and a machete burst into the Carrington Hotel, one of several pubs owned by the Drink & Dine group, and threatened staff.

The incident occurred about half an hour after closing when the robbers entered through a door to the restaurant, which according to security procedures should have been locked.

But crucially, the pub's tills had been emptied right on closing time. There were no dedicated security staff rostered on the early-closing Sunday night, but staff did not panic and no-one was hurt when the frustrated robbers fled.

Speaking to TheShout, owner Jamie Wirth said that he was not there at the time and wished his staff had not been forced to endure the armed hold-up.

"It’s easy to get a little complacent and over time procedures can lag, but an incident like this really shakes things up.

"I wish I had been there to handle the situation. We have security every night now."

National practice group executive of specialist hospitality insurer Aon Anthony Boi, told TheShout that security systems must be determined and reinforced with staff.

"Aon has recently experienced an increasing trend of hotels being the victim of armed hold-ups and breaking and entering. Having gaming machines on-site means that hotels have more cash on the premises compared to the wider hospitality, retail and services industry sectors. 

"We have seen a number of claims for situations that could have been avoided if the hotel staff involved had followed basic risk management practices and procedures," he said.